Here to Help
by amjam
Summary: Previously enrolled at an all girls academy in East Tokyo, Arakawa Yasuko makes the bold decision to transfer to Seido for a change of scenery during her second year. After watching the Seido team in action, Yasuko decides its her sworn duty to aid the team as their pitching coach. Can she prove herself to the coach and team?
1. Chapter 1: New School

Greetings all! I've written a few fics when I was younger, and I'll admit they were pretty atrocious. Just recently I've gotten back into reading, school kind of took over my life, but I've been inspired to try to write again. I'm a science major so my writing is probably really choppy, but I hope you guys can enjoy the stories that my brain concocts. Enjoy!

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* _School Bell Dings_ *

 _Oh god, why did this have to happen today! Why did I sleep though my alarm!_ I screamed in my head as I sprinted though the side streets to my new school. Back at Seisen, all girls were required to dorm giving me the luxury of waking up 10 minutes before class. _I guess this is my own fault._ I though blaming myself

 _Tou-san and Ka-san said Id have to stay back at home if it wanted to transfer to Seido._ It wasn't such a bad trade off since Seido was only ten minutes away from my house compared to the thirty that Seisen was. Brushing it off, I put my head down and sprinted as fast as I could through the streets.

After finally arriving at Seido, I changed my shoes and quickly made my way to the office. Taking in one final breath I knocked on the office door, which then opened to reveal girl with shoulder-length black hair and light brown eyes standing in front of me. "Are you Arakawa Yasuko-san?" She asked in a cute voice. "Yeah, that me." I mumbled as I scratched the back of my head. "I'm sorry I'm late, I used to dorm at my old school so I don't think I've gotten used to waking up so early yet. " I explained trying to sound as sorry as possible.

"Ahhh, don't worry about it." She reassured as she stepped out the office and closing the door behind her. "Principal Asakai-san had to attend to some business so he asked for me to meet you in the office. Im Chiba Akemi by the way. Its really nice to meet you!" She introduced giving me a big smile. We began to walk through the hallways and up a few flights of stairs to our classroom. On the way, she talked about everything there possibly was about this school. All the clubs, classes, best/worst teachers, prettiest girls, cutest guys, everything! It was amazing how much this girl could get in, in the five-minute walk to our classroom.

"Home room has already begun, but Ive told Akiba-sensei that we'd probably be late." She stated finally as we reached our door.

Back a Seisen, I couldn't really get along with a majority of the girls. Not that that they caused drama, I just couldn't really bond with them. I always felt so excluded so just standing there and listening to Chiba-san talk so casually was…nice.

"Hey, Chiba-san tha-" She cut me off "Yasuko-chan you don't have to be that formal with me, were classmates after all! Just call me Kemi-chan like every does, hehe." She corrected teasingly wagging her finger at me.

 _This girl is really something_ I thought as I vigorously nodded at her request

She let out a small giggle and raised her fist to knock on the door. "Ready?" she asked giving a small smile. "Mm!" I replied nodding in agreement.

Through the door, I could hear the muffled voice of the teacher explaining how Kemi-chan went to fetch the new student. _Fetch? What am I, a dog?_ I thought but my self ranting was interrupted by the door sliding open. Kemi-chan had nonchalantly walked into the classroom and sat in her seat leaving me at the entrance.

 _Lets get this new adventure started_ I cheered to myself mentally slapping my cheeks to get me going. I slowly paced in stopping in front of the blackboard.I stared out into the silent room before Akiba-sensei began talking" Class, this is Arakawa Yasuko, a transfer student from Seinen High." She finished motioning for me to introduce myself.

Not catching her nod fast enough I began to stumble on my greeting "…G-GOOD MORNING MINA-SAN!" I said a little too enthusiastically.

 _Too loud, idiot!_ I scolded in my head

"My name is Arakawa Yasuko. Please take care of me!" I continued smoothly, trying to redeem myself as I bowed slightly at the waist. As I came up I could see a lot of smiles and eyes shifting as whispers fill the room.

"What was up with that greeting?"

"Hey hey, she's really cute!"

"I wonder why she didn't stay at the all-girl school?"

"She probably wanted to see guys with here own eyes"

I forced a twitchy smile as my classmates made their assumptions of me. If there was one thing I hated most, it was people assuming Im this or that, it was one of the reasons I left Seinen. _Oh well_ I thought to myself before Akiba-sensei interrupted my thinking."Arakawa-san, you can sit by the window behind Miyuki-kun" she said point to an empty seat behind a brunette boy with glasses. Unlike his classmates, he seemed too occupied with what he was reading to even notice me walking towards him.

I was pretty bummed there weren't any seats next to Kemi-chan, but sitting next to new people didn't bother me too much. When I came up on glasses-boy, I glanced down at what he was so intently reading. Game stats.

 _Oh, no wonder youre so occupied_ I thought understandingly as I smiled slightly feeling intrigued by the stats.

 _This new school is already better than Seinen, and Ive only been here for an hour!_ I thought excitedly.

Akiba-sensei resumed her lesson and the morning flew by and before I knew it, it was lunch break. Akiba-sensei had left the room and all the students began to shift around to get their lunch or leave to buy something. Despite all the moving, glasses-boy still remained in the same position since I sat down. It was kind of frustrating to see someone so still.

 _Geez, are you a statue or something?!_ I criticized, staring at the back of his head. My light glare was broken when a boy with pulled back hair stomped over to glasses-boy. "Oy, Miyuki!" he said a little too loud to be considered an inside voice. "How long are you gonna look at those stats? How about you get your face out of that notebook and come with me and eat!" he said pulling the notebook from Miyuki's hands.

Glasses-boy looked up with a serious face as if her were going to going to let the mohawk boy have it "…Oh, Kuromochi, how long were you standing here?" he asked in a laid back tone totally unknowing of what has been going on. "I didn't know it was lunch break already, hehe" he finished giving the other boy a big smile while scratching the back of his head.

 _If theyre on the baseball team, they don't seem as cool as Kemi-chan let on….._ I thought.

Coming to, I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw Kemi-chan standing at my desk. "Yasuko-chan, I bet you didn't have time to make a lunch since you were so late this morning so I bought you some bread" She said kindly as she held it in front of me.

I stared at bread intently.

 _I only met the girl a few hours ago, I cant take advantage of her kindness just yet!_ The righteous part of me reasoned in my head

"Thank you Kemi-chan, but I cant take this" I said politely trying to turn down the bread, no matter how much it broke my heart.

…

*GROWL*

…

 _How dare you betray me stomach!_ I yelled at my self mentally crying. "Haha, Yasuko-chan you're so funny. Just take the bread, you can pay me back another time." I stared at her with starry eyes and happily unwrapped to bread to starting eating. "Arigato Kemi-chan!" I thanked not caring about the crumbs on my face. She smiled kindly and pulled a chair next to me to keep me company. As I ate, she began to talk about how the day would work and all the things I should expect during the week. I zoned in and out as I savored the taste of the bread.

"Oy, Miyuki. That's a new transfer student. She sits behind you" The one I assumed to be Kuromochi whispered to glasses-boy. The two were now standing against the windows a desk or two away from where I was sitting.

 _Either I have crazy hearing, or he sucks at whispering_ I though as I munched away on my bread, giving Kemi-chan a nod every now and then.

"I bet you didn't notice her because you were too into the stats, but she's pretty cute don't ya think?" Kuromochi whispered again giving Miyuki a nudge with his elbow. I could feel Glasses-boy look for me for a minute or two, only to give a small shrug as the two continued to discuss baseball.

"Hey Kemi-chan whats the deal with those two?" I interrupted nodding my head in the direction of the two boys. "Oh that's Miyuki-kun and Kuromochi-kun. They're both starters on the baseball team. Its pretty amazing since our school is known for baseball." She explained "Kuromochi-kun is a little loud but nice to talk to. He can be pretty shy sometimes. And Miyuki-kun is pretty popular with the ladies, but he puts the baseball before everything" She explained further.

I listened to her as I stared at the two boys while still eating my bread. _Starters, huh?_

The rest of the day continued on and nothing of importance took place. I packed up my belonging and began to walk out the door. _First day, complete._ I thought as I made my way home.


	2. Chapter 2: The second day

*BEEP**BEEP**BEEP*

I groggily pulled my hand out from under my pillow to slam it on my alarm clock. _Im never going to get used to waking up this early to get ready_ I thought as I slid out of my covers one limb at a time. Once I finally made it out of bed, I got to the bathroom and started to brush my teeth and wash my face, all while still half asleep of course. Slowly, I walked back to my room with heavy feet to start changing into my uniform.

Once I finished changing, I gave myself on final look in the mirror. A girl standing at 5'4'' with chestnut brown hair that fell down her back and big grey eyes stared back at me. _I guess this'll have to do_ I thought to myself as I straightened my skirt and tucked some stray hairs behind my ear.

 _Living at back at home wasn't too bad. Of course I don't think Id ever get used to waking up early, but at least I didn't have to eat cafeteria food everyday but then again_ ….*BANG**CRASH* I peaked my head out my room to look for the source of all the noise. The door from across the hall slammed open to reveal my two older brothers trying to fight their way to the bathroom.

"Yasuo-nii, Yasuno-nii it's a little ear-" I started.

"Yasuo, you idiot! You said you had an alarm" "What!? You said you were going to set it Yasuno!"

 _I guess I'm not the only one having a hard time waking up…._ I thought as I saw my twin older brothers fight each other for the bathroom. They're only a year older than me, but I swear they act like they're five. _I definitely could have done without this_ I thought as I watched the two wrestle on the floor outside the bathroom. This continued for another minute or two until Yasuo-nii managed to get into the bathroom and lock the door leaving Yasuno-nii still on the ground.

Roling my eyes at what I had just witnessed, I grabbed my bag and made my way down the stairs and to see my dad sitting at the table drinking his coffee. "Ohayo, Tou-san" I greeted to which he repled with a small "Hn". Tou-san was a man of few words, but he always tried to show he feeling through his facial expressions. I scanned the rest of the room and didn't see my mom anywhere _Ka-san must be getting dressed for work_ I thought. My eyes stopped on a small bento sitting on the kitchen counter. I walked over to it and pulled the lid off the small box to reveal four onigiri and a small side.

 _Awesome, thanks ka-san! I can give the extra one to Kemi-chan as a thank you for yesterday!_ I thought happily as I carefully packed my lunch into my bag. I picked up a piece of toast from the table and held it in my mouth as I started to slip my shoes on. "IKIMASU!" I shouted through the house and then peacefully made my way to school.

….

….

"Ahhhhh! I woke up early but I took too much time to get ready!" I yelled out loud. The waking up early part, I got down. Getting ready in a timely manner, not so much. I pulled out my phone to read 7:15 on the screen _Oh god, Im going to be late again!_ I screamed in my head once again putting my head down in an all-out sprint to school.

Finally making it to the classroom with a few minutes to spare I quickly opened the door trying to catch my breath from my mini marathon. _I would so make it onto the track team…heh_ I joked to myself trying to stifle my huffing as I walked to my seat. Sadly it was still pretty noticeable. After placing my bag on the hook, I let my legs give out under me as I plopped down into my seat letting my head meet the desk with a light thud.

Focusing on regaining my composure, I didn't hear someone pull out a chair in front of me. _In, Out, In, Out, I-_ my very important breath regulating thoughts were interrupted by a light set of pokes on my head.

 _Who the hell…_ I started to think. I didn't move thinking the person would stop, but I was wrong

Poke….Poke….Poke….PokePoke

"Hey, Akemi-chan! This dead person is you friend right?"

 _DEAD PERSON?!_ My head shot up to meet eyes with none other than glasses-boy himself. "Miyuki-kun she's fine. She's probably still getting used to commuting to class." Kemi-chan defended as she walked over and gave a few pats on my shoulder. "Ill have you know I jus-" my explanation was cut short.

"Hehe, gomen, gomen," he apologized with a big smile that didn't seem to match his apology "I didn't know you commuted. Im Miyuki Kazuya" he introduced, "…also, youre sitting in my seat." he added on pointing at the desk.

My face flushed red, mostly from the running I had just did, but also at Miyuki's half assed introduction/get out of my seat statement. Not having been awake for more than a few hours left me without a witty retort so I just picked up my stuff and grumpily moved to the seat behind him.

Not long after the encounter, Akiba-sensei came into the room and began the days lessons.

This morning seemed to move slower than yesterdays. I found myself drifting in and out of my thoughts trying to find things to occupy my mind. When I couldn't find anything interesting I began to stare holes into the back Miyuki's head until something came to mind. I continued to alter between the two until lunch break came. When Akiba-sensei finally made her way out of the room, I quickly pulled out my bento and unwrapped it.

"Hey Kemi-chan, I have something for you!" I said as she pulled a chair next to me with her own lunch. I proudly lifted to the lid to show her the contents, but it didn't go as expected. "Yasuko-chan, did you fall on your way here?" she said worried. Confused by the statement, I opened my eyes to look down at the bento. My vigorous running earlier had shuffled the contents of the food causing it to break up.

"Noooo! I packed it so carefully too!" I whined as I picked up the bento. "I had an extra onigiri to give to you as a thank you for yesterday…." I explained grimacing at the box. Akemi laughed at my response to the jumbled up bento. "Yasuko-chan, its fine." She started reassuringly "Ill still eat it! Just cause its broken up doesn't mean it wont taste good." She reached in a grabbed a part of the rice ball and popped it into her mouth.

My scowl immediately vanished as I began to eat with her. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Kuramochi and Miyuki come back to the classroom with bread in hand. The two were pretty fun to watch from a distance, I had to admit that. Kuramochi looked like he was talking away about something while Miyuki was definitely not listening. I followed them with my eyes as they made their way into the classroom back to Miyuki's seat.

 _Ugh why do they have to sit here, why couldn't you stay at Kuromochi's desk_ I thought getting annoyed taking a slightly bigger bit of my rice ball.

"Kuromochi-kun! This is Yasuko-chan. Did you get the chance to meet her yet?" Akemi asked out interrupting what the two boys were talking about. The two turned and looked at me. "Nice to meet you" Kuromochi greeted giving a slight bow to his head. You could see a small flush of red on his face as he came back up. My eyes moved to glasses-boy next to him who was intently staring at my face.

….

…

….

"Can I help you….?" I finally asked breaking the silence forcing a twitchy smile.

….

….

"You have rice on your cheek" He said simply pointing to my right cheek. My smile twitched even more as I reached up to pick it off. "….Thank you" I replied dryly

 _I swear this guy! So straight forward with someone he barely knows!_ I yelled in my head. I continued to take larger bites out of my rice ball hoping my chewing would drown out their talking.

"How is the team looking guys?" Kemi-chan asked trying to fill the silence between the four of us. "Ahh, everything is looking good. Coach brought up two first year pitchers to the starting line up." Miyuki explained. "Kyaha yeah, too bad one of them is a total idiot" Kuramochi added.

"Oh, they must be good then since there's so many people on the team" Kemi-chan exclaimed. The two boys continued to talk about the new first years mostly to themselves, but for all four of us to hear. Akemi-chan just smiled and ate as the two talked. I didn't have much to say either since I didn't know anything about the team yet, but I did listen carefully.

 _Lefty with a moving fastball and a monster with a crazy arm…hmmm_ My mind lingered on this until we finished lunch break.

The rest of the day continued much like the morning, slow and uneventful, but before I knew it the final bell had dinged and everyone started making their way out.

Letting everyone leave first, I lingered for a few moments to make sure I had all my belongings before I made my way to the door. I slid the door open and came face to chin with someone on the other side. I looked up to see it was Miyuki.

"Just leaving now Arakawa-san?" he said lightly, squeezing past me and jogging to his desk. He pulled out the same stats notebook he was reading so intently the day before. Before I could even think to say anything, he squeezed past me again and left out the door closing it behind him making it barely skim my nose.

Furious with how he closed the door on me without saying anything I angrily slammed the door open, walked out and closed it with another loud slam.

 _That damn four-eyes. Closing the door on me and not saying sorry. Just you watch, Ill get you one day._ I though angrily as I stomped down the hallway making my way home.

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Thats all I have for today! Thank you for taking the time to read this!


	3. Chapter 3: It's Fun

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Diamond no Ace characters mentioned in this story. The OCs are mine though!

Also, as I was rereading what I have posted so far, Ive decided to try using different points of view to make the story move a little smoother. Let me know how you guys like it!

* * *

 **3rd person Point of View**

In the blink of an eye, Yasuko was finishing up her first week at Seido high school without any….major complications. Akemi has become a fast friend to Yasuko. They regularly eat lunch together and even exchanged phone numbers despite not having much in common. Yasuko is a closet tomboy, athlete that's just trying to make her way through a new high school while Akemi was the center of many of their male peers' affections, though she herself failed to see it. Nevertheless, Yasuko felt comfortable with Akemi no matter the differences.

She did, however, have issues with another person. Miyuki Kazuya.

Every so often, Akemi packs more food than usual and invites Miyuki and Kuramochi to join them for lunch break usually disregarding the scowls and glares Yasuko would send her as a plea to take back the invitation. Yasuko had no problems with Kuramochi, but she could definitely do without glasses-boy. Sadly, no one can turn down Akemi, so of course the boys would agree and of course Miyuki had something to say that would push Yasuko's buttons.

 **Yasuko's Point of View**

"Miyuki-kun! Kuramochi-kun! Are you guys busy? I packed a lot of food again and I don't think Yasuko and I can finish it ourselves. Do you want to join us?" Kemi-chan asked totally unaware of the bright and shining aura surrounding her.

 _No! NO! NOOO!_ I screamed in my head. "K-Kemi-chan…" I started, giving Akemi a forced, twitch smile. "Do you always _have_ to invite them whenever you bring extra food?" I finished while stiffly motioning to the two boys who were in the middle of turning around their seats.

"Why not? Lunch is much more fun when where all together hehe!" Kemi-chan replied sincerely still glowing as usual.

 _Geez, what do I have to do to make it more obvious Kemi-chan!?_ I thought contemplating Akemi's ability to read situations.

The boys had finally settled in their seats and I had no other choice but to sit down and eat with them. Smiling as always, Kemi-chan pushed her bento of sides into the middle and we all began to dig in. "How has your guys week been coming along?" Kemi-chan asked after swallowing a mouth full of rice. "Hehe nothing too intense…for now." Miyuki answered flashing a mischevious smile as he scarfed down his second piece of omelet. Kemi-chan and I gave them a questioning look in response.

"In two weeks were going to start training camp. Kyaha can't wait to put the first years though hell! " Kuromochi clarified with an equally mischevious smile on his face.

"Id hate to have you guys as senpais….." I muttered holding my chopsticks against my lips.

"Kuromochi's just mad because last year Jun-san got him to eat enough where he threw up hehe" Miyuki teased poking Kuromochi's face with his chopsticks. Caught in the middle of swallowing, Kuromochi tried to blurt out a comeback but instead choked on his own food. Quick to respond, Kemi-chan gave him some of her water and began to tap his back lightly. Once he finally got the food down I noticed a tinge of pink showing on his cheeks, most likely from Kemi-chan being so close to him.

 _Hey, hey now, what do we have here?_ I thought playfully. _Kuromochi-san does get rather quite around Kemi-chan. I don't doubt him though, every guy turns to jelly around her. Haha I wonder how he's even able to make though lunch break sitting next to her._ My prying thoughts consumed me as continued to blankly stare at the two.

Aimlessly, I slowly began to move my chopsticks towards the last piece of omelet and put it in my lunch box, but when I closed my chopsticks to grab the egg….there was nothing. I moved my chopsticks around the area hoping I had simply missed it, but when I finally came to my senses and looked down at the bento there was no omelet left.

"What? I could've-" I looked up to see the last omelet piece in the chopsticks infront of me…with a bite already in it.

….

 _That's it..._

"Oi, oi" I started getting out of my seat and bending over the desks so my eyes were level with Miyukis. "Who said you could eat the last omelet? Huh GLASSES-BOY!?" I finished not realizing my hands were vice gripping the collar of his shirt.

"Glasses-boy? Me?" Miyuki asked confused while pointing at himself.

"You're too straight forward for you own good!" I said as I began to shake him by the collar.

"A-ano, Arakawa-san" he meekly tried to interject

"You have absolutely NO manners!"

"Hai, hai, but when did you start using such informal speech..."

"You ate the last OMELET!" I said ending my rant huffing probably due to me forgetting to breathe as I scolded.

…..

"Hai, hai, alrighty then!" Kemi-chan cut in, breaking me away from Miyuki and motioning for us to sit back down. "Now that was exciting!" she added trying to make ease of the situation with her bright aura and…..ability to disregard any awkward situation.

I straightened my hair as I sat back in my seat and resumed eating as if the last few minutes never happened.

"Hehehe gomen, gomen but I need the energy to get me though practice, these first year pitchers are really a handful." Miyuki reasoned after regaining his composure. "But you really think I'm straight forward? I appreciate that!" he added showing a toothy smile and scratching the back of his neck. "But on another note, since you used such informal speech I guess we can be more comfortable around each other ne, Yasuko?" he suggested while extending his mischievous, toothy smile.

"What no wa-" Kemi-chan cut me off. "You did call him glasses-boy, Yasuko-chan." She reminded

 _God, I have my own conscience, I don't need you on me too Kemi-chan….._ I muttered in my head.

"FINE! But I just want you to know, you have a horrible personality!" I said packing up my bento and leaving to wash my hands. My back was turned to him, but I just knew that he still had that stupid smile on his face.

 **Kuramochi's Point of View**

After lunch break classes just flew by and next thing I know Im packing up my bag to head out to practice.

"Yasuko-chan! Hurry up, we have to finish taking out the garbage!" Akemi shouted to Yasuko from the door way. The two girls left the room carrying the class garbage cans.

 _Shes so pretty….._ I thought as Akemi closed the door behind her.

Miyuki was still at his desk packing up hir books."Oi, Miyuki! What the hell is your problem? Yasuko's still new and you already got her hating you." I said to him but he just continued to pack up. "Miyuki! Hey! Are you listening to me?" I asked again getting irritated.

 _I don't even know how I handle him…._ I thought questioning how our friendship has lasted.

"Hehe!" I snapped out of my thoughts to see him smiling to himself.

"I don't know, it's just fun!" he said finally looking up at me. "Huh?!" was the only way I could reply. He got up suddenly and walked past me towards the door.

"Hey, Kuromochi let's go! We're going to be late for practice!" he called out as he opened the door.

 _Jeez, two years I still cant figure you out…_

* * *

Finally, a very special thank you to mada for giving me my first review! I deeply appreciate you reading and taking the time to write back to me.

Thank you for reading everyone! Going to go drown in school work now .


	4. Chapter 4: Interest

Greetings all! It's been a while, but Im finally done for the semester! This chapter came out a lot longer than expected, but I guess thats a good thing. Thank you all again for reading, enjoy! (Reviews are nice, too)

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

"Everyone take two laps and stretch!" Coach Kataoka called out from the dugout. First and second stringers alike began to jog to the outskirts of the field to start their laps. Now that the first-string team has been finalized for the year, practice was becoming more and more intense (as if it weren't intense enough as it is) and second-stringers had reduced field time to prioritize for the first string.

The players finished stretching and began to line up in front of the Coach and waited for further instructions. "Infielders, take their field. I'm going to have a second string feed you grounders and outfielders, head to the cages for some batting warm up, switch out after each player has fielded at least ten times. Pitchers, start warming-up your arms in the bullpen. Miyuki, when they're ready come and get me so I can see how they're doing. " The team responded with a loud "HAI!" and began to jog to their respective places.

 **-On the field-**

*ding*

"Kyahaha, Maezono hit the ball harder! There's no way it'll be this easy in a game." Kuramochi ordered to Maezono as he cleanly fielded a ball and threw it to Yuki.

*ding*

"Heh, hit it harder so you can knock Kuramochi down a few pegs." Ryuosuke replied with a smirk on his face after finishing off his throw to Yuki as well.

*ding*

"If you guys have time to talk, you're not working hard enough." Yuki lectured as he reached out to catch Masuko's throw.

 _If you want them harder, there you go!_ Maezono thought as he put some extra power into his swing as he fed to Kuramochi. The ball took a weird bounce and swerved to the left causing him to have to side step and jump to field the ball.

"Now were getting started!" He shouted as he regained his footing to finish off the throw to Yuki.

 **-In the batting cages-**

"Ora!" *ding*

"Jun-san, I don't think shouting will make you hit the ball farther…." Shirasu tried to reason as he watched Jun swing for the fences.

"Ora Ora!" *ding*

 _I guess if it helps you…._ Shirasu thought to himself as he began to take a couple swings.

 **-In the bullpen-**

"Chris-senpai! How was that one? It sounded good in your mitt!" Sawamura asked eagerly. "You're not finishing your throw, Sawamura. Swing you arm down all the way. Give me another one." Chris said simply, completely avoiding his question. The frustration showed on Sawamura's face, "Arrgghh, hai!" he said giving up returning to the mound.

"Furuya, what are you going watching them, hurry and throw another one!" Wataru called out trying to snap Furuya out of it. "Right…" Furuya said finally snapping out of his daze. Seeing Furuya lean back to begin the pitch, Wataru took a big gulp and braced himself for the pitch. _Good thing Im close to the fence incase his pitch takes me flying._ He thought to himself as Furuya released the ball.

"Nice pitch, Tanba-san!" Miyuki said as he stood from his squatting position. "Nori and the first-years look warmed up, I'm going to run out and get Coach." He called out as he head out the bullpen.

Tanba and Furuya were still pitching as Coach Kataoka entered the bullpen with Miyuki trailing behind. "Every ones shoulders have been warmed up Coach, Tanba-san and Nori are looking more and more consistent with each pitch, what I'm worried about the are first years. Furuya's fastballs should alone should be enough to overpower most batters, but his stamina is awful." Coach Kataoka keeps his eyes locked on Furuya as he begins to wind up for a pitch. "What about Sawamura?" Coach asked, his eyes not leaving Furuya. "He's….making progress. His biggest asset is how unpredictable his moving fast ball is, but stamina and consistency aren't there."

The two turned to look at Chris who was teaching Sawamura about release points.

"Everyone to the field. Were going to run game scenarios. Tanba is going to be on the mound followed by Kawakami and Furuya. Sawamura, get a helmet and get ready for base running."

"HAI"

Everyone jogged out of the bullpen leaving Sawamura by himself, completely speechless. "W-why am I the only one base running!?" He shouted, but Coach Kataoka had already left out.

When the pitchers and catchers emerged from the dug out to rejoin the fielders, they faced a crowd of alumni, teachers and fellow students lined up along the fences to watch their practice.

Coach Kataoka called out to the infielders for a water break and announced the live hitting and base running as the next task. After hearing this, the infielders jogged over to the dugout for a breather. Kuramochi grabbed a sports drink and plopped down next to Miyuki who was adjusting his leg guards.

"Hey hey, look who came out to watch our practice, hehe" Kuramochi whispered to Miyuki with a creepy smile on his face.

Miyuki looked up and scanned the crowd to see who Kuramochi was talking about. As he panned the spectators, his eyes locked on Akemi-chan standing near third base.

"You know, you should actually talk to _her_ and not talk to me about what you think you should say to her…." Miyuki responded taking a shot at Kuramochi's ego. He grunted in aversion and kept pointing in the same direction. "…but look who she brought." He whispered again.

Miyuki looked up again to see Yasuko walking up next to Akemi with two drinks in hand. She handed one to Akemi and proceeded to open hers to take a sip, but as she was doing so she tipped to can up too high causing juice to spill over her face.

 _Heh, well that was graceful._ Miyuki thought to himself.

"She usually goes home after classes, but Im guessing Akemi-chan convinced her to come watch today. " Kuramochi deducted as he finished gulping down his sports drink.

"Hehehe, guess that means you can't afford to mess up, Kuramochi " Miyuki finished as he fixed his helmet in place and grabbed his mask. "Pft, like I would do that…." Kuramochi grunted following Miyuki out of the dug out.

 **-Earlier That Day-**

"Ohayo, Yasuko-chan. Youre actually early today!" Akemi greeted as Yasuko pulled out her chair. "Ohayo, Kemi-chan! Yeah, my brothers set 10 alarms on full blast so they wouldn't be late for school. Thing is, I heard them across the hall and woke up…when they didn't…." Yasuko finished feeling almost ashamed of admitting she was related to such dopes.

Yasuko looked around the room and noticed a lot of the girls in her class were grouped up and whispering to eachother.

"Ne, ne, their first string has been the baseball team! We should go watch to check out who they picked."

"Of course Miyuki made it on to first string, I heard he's considered a genius catcher."

"My sister is in the same class as one of the new first years. She says he's so cute! I want to see if she's right!"

"Kemi-chan, why is everyone losing their minds over the baseball team here. Miyuki and Kuramochi-kun don't look all that special…." Yasuko grumbled out though a scowl. "Yasuko-chan, you do realize the this school is ranked for baseball. We even have dorms for out-of-district players to stay in…." Kemi-chan explained to a very unimpressed Yasuko.

"I have an idea! Lets go watch after school today!" Akemi suggested beaming with her usual glow.

 _Jeez, you need to turn the aura down a notch Kemi-chan_ Yasuko thought to herself as she looked away form Akemi's brilliant smile. "I think I'll pass on that one, I already see glasses-boy enough during the day." Yasuko said trying to put as much distaste in her voice as she mentioned Miyuki.

"Oh come on, you always go straight home after classes! Please! Just this once?" Kemi-chan persisted as she began to grab onto Yasuko's sleeve. "Ill make you omelet for lunch tomorrow!" She bribed as she tugged on her sleeve

"….Fine" Yasuko said, giving into the idea of free food.

 **Yasuko's POV**

"Kemi-chan! Here's your juice." I called out as I handed one of the cans to Akemi. She took her time wiping the mouth of the can and slowly opened to avoid spilling. _No time for all that, so thirsty!_ I thought as I quickly opened my can and took a gulp. I quickly regret my greed when the juice came flooding down my face and up my nose.

I pulled the can away and hung my head away from my body to avoid juice staining my clothes. _Smooth, Yasuko._ I thought to myself. Kemi-chan just laughed at me and handed me the napkin in her hand.

"Their taking the field!" One of the girls next to me screamed as she and her friend jumped in excitement.

 _You've got my attention, lets see what you guys are about._ I thought to myself as I watched their first string take the field.

A boy about my height took the mound and was pitching to a young boy with pink hair.

"The one hitting is Kominato Haruichi, Ryousuke's little brother!" I heard the girl next to me say. The pitcher wound up and have the pink haired boy a fastball inside. No reaction for the batter. He gave him another fastball low and away, still no reaction. The pitcher wound up, pitching a sharp breaking slider. The batter seemed to light up at the breaking ball and made solid contact right at the break sending the ball to the short stop.

"Kyaaha! Nice try, but not today." I heard him say while fielding the ball.

 _So Kuramochi-kun is the first string shortstop. Hes got good agility and control._ I thought finally finding some interest in the team.

They continued to practice this way. Infield and outfield looked solid. They moved as one unit and no errors were made. The side armed pitcher wasn't too bad either. Consistent with good pacing, not to mention the break on his slider was almost perfect. After about 20 pitches or so, they switched pitchers. There was now a tall boy with a buzz cut on the mound.

He wasted no time kicking around dirt and went trait to pitching. High inside, low outside, straight fast ball, fastball inside. The batter couldn't make solid contact any of them.

 _He's good, but does he have a strong close out pitch._ I challenged in my head. It was a 2-2 count. The tall, buzz cut pitcher wound up and gave the batter a curveball to the outside. Batter stuck out looking. _I guess theres my answer_ I thought, admitting that my doubts were wrong.

Another 20 pitches later, a tall boy with dark blue hair walked to the mound. "Kyaaa! Thats Furuya-kun! He so cute, and they fact that he made first string as a first year is amazing!" The girl next to me screamed.

"How do these girls know so much?" I murmured to Kemi-chan. "I told you, these boys are like celebrities around here." She answered sighing at having to repeat herself.

I took another sip of my juice as I waited for the first year to pitch.

*SLAP*

Just like that, Furuya sent a straight fast ball to the pitcher in the blink of an eye. _Look what we got here…_ I thought, my interest fully peaked.

One after another, 3 more straight fastballs were thrown.

"BALL FOUR! TAKE YOUR BASE!" The ump called out.

 _So he's got the talent, but cant fully utilize it._ I thought as I analyzed his form some more. The runner on first was creeping pretty far off base and it seems like Furuya didn't notice.

 _That's what separates an ace from any other pitcher, awarene-_

My thoughts were cut short when the runner headed for second as Furuya released the ball. However, before the runner could make it to the base Kuramochi was already at second with his glove down. I looked over at home plate to see the catcher still in a finished throwing stance. A familiar mischievous smirk on his face as the ump called the batter out.

 _So you're the catcher….._ I thought, realizing that it was Miyuki this whole time

"Nice pitch, Furuya! Just focus on the batter now." Miyuki called out as he squatted back down.

 _Taking responsibility when the pitcher is flustered, Ill ive you this one glasses-boy. Throws to second like that are risky._ I complemented in my head.

"See! Miyuki-kun is actually very talented once you get past his twisted personality." Kemi-chan reasoned trying to talk up Miyuki. I could only 'hmph' back at her because the thought of verbally giving him props was ridiculous to me, even though I had just done so in my head.

After Furuya had finished 20 or so pitches, it looked like the team was ready to head back into the dug out to move on to the task, but then the ump took of his mask to reveal an older gentleman with glasses.

"Sawamura! Get on the mound!" He shouted. A brown-haired boy pulled off a batting helmet I surprise and quickly made his way up to the mound causing the rest of the fielders to take their spots.

 _I was wondering when the southpaw was going to come out_ I said to myself.

A batter walked up and the brunette boy started his motions. It looked like he was aiming for an inside pitch, but lost contol and hit the batter.

"HIT BY PITCH, TAKE YOUR BASE!" The ump/coach called out.

Sawamura kicked some dirt obviously frustrated by his first pitch. "Oi! Take it easy, Bakamura!" Kuramochi called out to him. Sawamura ignored the compliment/name calling and took a deep breath before starting his motions again.

There was something different about this form than the one from when he hit the batter. He was calm and collected. His leg came up just a few centimeters higher then before. His release point was lowered.

He threw a naturally breaking fast ball inside.

"Strike!" the coach called out.

 _So this is what the Seido pitching team looks like._ I thought, not realizing the smirk forming on my face.

The lefty, first year finally found his timing and was giving consistent strikes. They werent exactly where Miyuki was calling them, but damn he was throwing off the batters.

"Yasuko-chan, whats up? Why are you smiling so….creepy" Kemi-chan asked kind of taken back by my reaction.

"Ne, Kemi-chan, who do I talk to if I want to work with the baseball team?" I asked turning to face her with a confident smile.

"H-huh!" was all she could give me.


End file.
